


Timeless

by goingcrazy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Kinda one-sided love, Light Angst with Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Platonic Mark Lee/Lee Taeyong, mentions of other nct members - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 17:55:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14086425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingcrazy/pseuds/goingcrazy
Summary: Mark is confused. Which is not something that should be considered strange or out of the ordinary when it comes to him, he’s been confused about the world’s entire existence since he was grown enough to think coherently, but this situation with Yukhei is just making him go insane.





	Timeless

**Author's Note:**

> >>>> = Present  
> <<<< = Past

Mark is confused. Which is not something that should be considered strange or out of the ordinary when it comes to him, he’s been confused about the world’s entire existence since he was grown enough to think coherently, but this situation with Yukhei is just making him go insane.

Mark met Yukhei when they had been paired up for a project for his composition class. Back then Mark hated the idea of having to be Wong Yukhei’s partner. He didn’t personally know Yukhei but he had seen enough to know the popular boy was rather loud, always skipping class to play around with his friends and way too lively for Mark’s taste; he was also the last thing Mark wanted to deal with.

Needless to say Mark was more than shocked when he found out how smart Yukhei actually is, how high his level of creativity was and how he ended up contributing to their project more than Mark ever could think of.

Mark always thought the boy wasn’t very bright and still remembers Yukhei’s amused face when Mark not so gently told him so.

“I thought you were dumb”, Mark let out before his brain could catch up with his mouth and stops himself from being rude. His eyes widened comically when he realized what he just said, quickly lowering his gaze and letting out a soft “I’m sorry” to then proceed to bury his flaming face in his hands.

Yukhei just chuckled. “Don’t worry, man. I get that a lot. It doesn’t really bother me, I get people have this… impression of me.”

Mark ducked his head in confusion, “how doesn’t bother you that people think you’re…” Mark manages to catch himself this time. “You know, not that smart?”

“I really don’t care about what people, who don’t know personally me, could think of me,” he said with a shrug.

It was everything so easy after that.

Mark got to know Yukhei, really know him. Between meetings at Mark’s small dorm and study dates he realized they weren’t that different and that Yukhei is basically a kind hearted, exited puppy trapped in the body of very large boy.

Yukhei was easy to talk to, always laughing at Mark’s terrible jokes, taking care of him when he gets sick, comforting him when he’s feeling down and homesick, staying over and cooking for him when Mark is stressing out about his classes so Mark could eat something other than take out and instant ramyeon, all the while becoming best friends. There was a point when they couldn’t be caught without the other, they truly spent so much time together that their friends started to think they were dating.

“What’s a true friendship without people thinking we’re boyfriends, right?” Yukhei had say with a little laugh when one of Mark’s friends, Donghyuck, had brought up the topic.

It was also why it was so easy falling in love with him.

Mark can’t point out the exact moment things started to feel different, but suddenly he was staring at Yukhei for longer that necessary, getting nervous whenever Yukhei got too close and his heart started to flutter whenever Yukhei’s eyes were on him.

For a while Mark tries to come to terms with his newly figured feelings, tries to tell himself it’s just a crush because truth was, Yukhei was not only kind and funny but he was also incredibly attractive and that was something no one could ever deny. Yukhei was all lean muscle and long legs, slightly tanned skin, beautiful big eyes, honey brown hair so shiny and soft looking he could easily be model in any shampoo commercial and let’s not get him started on those sinful looking lips…

So yes, it wasn’t that hard to think Mark could feel attracted to his best friend, just like most girls and even guys at their campus were. But it always felt more than simple attraction, it wasn’t only Yukhei’s body and general appearance what drew Mark in, but just being in Yukhei’s company. Eventually there was really no point in denying the true nature of his feelings towards Yukhei, there was no denying that while he loved and treasure their friendship, he wanted more.

He wanted more. God, did he want more. It's a desire that had been stirring in his bones for a while now, he knew, and that probably started the moment they met. In just a few short moments, he had envisioned every possible outcome, thought of lazy kisses and home cooked dinners and being wrapped together in limbs.

He couldn't lie to himself, anymore. If his friends could see right through him, then maybe it was time he owned up to himself. 

The whole revelation was changing Mark's perspective on every memory he had with Yukhei. Did it mean something when Yukhei ruffled Mark's hair? Joked with him good-naturedly? When he kissed him on the forehead or pulled him into bear hugs?

He thought back to on Friday, when Yukhei gave him his forgotten lunch. That was something married couples do, and Mark was honestly starting to think that they were partly married, in a way.

Did Yukhei see it that way, though? Mark didn’t know, and he was too much of a coward to ask him.

But then one night, it just happens. Until this day Mark still blames it on the punch, he has no idea what was in it but suddenly all the things he had kept inside for so long, were rolling out of his tongue without not sign of stopping.

Mark remembers everything. He wasn’t really drunk that night, just merely tipsy and stupid. But he remembers how Yukhei’s eyes widened in shock and how confused he looked, and scared.

 

<<<< 

 

“Mark, bro… I think you should stop drinking now, you don’t know what you’re saying,” he says while taking Mark’s plastic cup away from and him and taking him by the arm. “Maybe it’s best to go now, let’s go, I’ll walk you home.”

“No,” Mark says firmly. “I’m not drunk. Just, listen to me ok?” Yukhei’s shuts up and stares. Mark takes it as his cue to continue.

“I love you.” Yukhei’s breath hitches in his throat. “I’m not going to tell you I’ve loved you from the start,” Mark went on, “because that would be a lie. I have loved you for so long now, though. I fell in love with you slowly, everyday a bit more and never less than the day before. And tonight, there was no one I wanted to be with more than you.”

Yukhei just keeps staring at him, jaw slack and with an utter look of fear in his face, like he couldn’t quite believe this was happening to him and Mark… Mark has to plant his feet firmly on the ground to prevent himself from running off. He already made the move, might as well get through with this.

“Say something, please?” He asks softly, his stomach is in knots.

Yukhei opens and closes his mouth several times. He then slightly shakes his head like trying to clear up his thoughts, and then took a deep breath.

“Mark.” He whispers. “I can’t… I mean, I don’t… I want…” He scrubs a hand over his face. He licks his lips, red and swollen, and looks up at Mark with eyes so big and pleading, and Mark has never wanted to kiss him quite so much as he does in that moment but Yukhei looks like he might cry when he says, “listen, I love you. I do,” Yukhei tilts his head back letting out a deep sigh, Mark heart sinks. “I just… I’m not sure I love you the way you want me to. I’m sorry.”

 

>>>> 

 

Mark doesn’t remember that much after the words left Yukhei’s lips. All he can remember is storming out of the party while Yukhei kept calling after him and then running home, tears running down his cheeks.

Needless to say Mark avoided Yukhei like the plague after that night. And yes, he knew he was being childish but he just couldn’t bring himself to look at Yukhei’s face again, he was heartbroken and embarrassed at the situation he put Yukhei in and how he ruined their friendship in the process.

And Mark knew he had no right to feel hurt about Yukhei not trying to contact him at all after that night, at how his heart would jump whenever his phone went off with a notification only to find out later it was Jaehyun, a friend from his dance class he’s gotten close with, and Donghyuck checking in on him. Never Yukhei. He didn’t have the right to be upset about it all, but he was.

So Mark went on with his life, he was sad and missed Yukhei like crazy but staying at home, crying inside his pillow would resolve nothing. He went to class every day, buried himself in work and tried to be the functional human being he was supposed to be despite feeling like he was dying on the inside.

Until one night he was returning to his dorm only to find Yukhei sitting down at his doorstep. He stopped abruptly when he saw him, closing his lips, blinking hard as though not entirely sure that he was seeing things right.

 

<<<< 

 

Yukhei looked exhausted, the usual sparkle in his gaze dulled, his hair messy, and sticking up at odd angles. He hadn’t seen Mark coming so Mark being the coward he is, was really contemplating which one his friends he could call to let him stay over and avoid the confrontation. He turned around as quietly as possible, ready to make his escape when Yukhei’s voice stopped him.

“Are you really going to leave knowing I’m here waiting for you?” Yukhei asks tentatively.

Mark turned around in time to watch Yukhei standing up, burying his hands in his pockets.

“No, I was just…” Mark shook his head knowing whatever he said right now was sound like an excuse and decides to go straight to the point. “What are you doing here?”

“I think it’s time for us to talk, don’t you?”

“Honestly? I thought you didn't want to see me again.” Mark says bitterly, he internally scolded himself because he didn’t have the right to be mad at Yukhei, he needed to not be petty right now, “given the fact that you didn’t even try to call me or you know, text me." Mark was naturally petty, there was nothing he could do about that.

Yukhei ducks his head in embarrassment at Mark's remark.

"Are you going to open the door and let us in or are we going have this conversation in your hallway for your neighbors and everyone else to hear?"

Mark just stares. A long time passes before he let out a sigh and walking around Yukhei to open the door. Chin tilted up but careful to not make eye contact with him. Dumping his backpack on the floor and kicking off his shoes once he’s inside. He walks into the small living room, not bothering to check if Yukhei’s behind until he heard the door click closed.

He turns around to see Yukhei there, fidgeting and looking nervous, which was bizarre because Mark should be the one nervous here.

"So?" Mark prompts, tone blank. It wasn't his intention to sound like an ass but he wanted to get this over with, being rejected yet again wasn’t something he wanted to prolong.

Mark looks at him. Yukhei brow is furrowed, as though trying to pick the right words to say. He casts his gaze down, fingers curling around the hem of his hoodie.

"I wasn't avoiding you," he paused to look at Mark. "I was giving you space to cool down and think things through with a clear head."

Mark lets out a quiet laugh, but the bitterness is palpable.

"If you're waiting for me to tell you that I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing and saying then you may as well leave Yukhei, it's not gonna happen. I know what I said and my feelings haven't changed, and now that I've said it I'm not going to take it back."

Yukhei looks flustered at Mark's words, "I... No, I don't want you to take it all back and I wouldn't dare to invalidate your feelings either, you know that."

"Do I?"

Yukhei seems taken aback by Mark's words and Mark knew he was being harsh but he didn't know how else to act. He didn't want to lose Yukhei but his pride was too hurt already, he wasn't about to let himself look weak right now.

"I wouldn’t hurt you Mark, at least not intentionally," he says, sincerely.

And just like that Mark's defensiveness crumbled.

He lets out a deep sigh, "I know. I'm sorry I'm acting like an asshole right now."

"Don't. I understand." Yukhei brushed his hair from his forehead, a nervous habit. "Mark, I had a long time to think things through too, you know? More than giving you time to think I was also doing it for me. And the only thing that's always clear to me and my heart is that you’re probably the most important person in my life, and I don’t know what I’d do without you by my side."

Mark is bewildered.

"What-?"

“Just let me talk, ok?”

Mark’s eyes narrow in curiosity. He sits down and leans forward, listening to whatever Yukhei has to say.

"These two weeks being away from you, were completely torture for me, and the thought alone of not having you in my life anymore and losing you forever really scared the shit out of me and made me realize I'm really happy when I'm with you, Mark," Yukhei told him, quiet and low. "You- shit, you’ve come to mean a lot to me."

Mark's lips pressed together, swallowing heavily. He doesn't say anything immediately.

"So," Mark eventually says, voice soft, tentative. "What does that mean?"

Yukhei takes in a deep breath. "I want us to still be friends in the meantime I get myself sort out, I just need you to give me some time to figure things out.” Mark stared, biting down on his lip. Yukhei continues, “I have never fallen in love with anyone, I don’t know if my feelings for you are romantic and the last thing I want to do is lead you on and end up hurting you.”

 

>>>> 

 

So that’s where they stand now, they’re friends, still hang out and do pretty much everything together but there’s this… tension lingering between them that becomes almost palpable every time Yukhei looks at him.

Mark actually relished the moments when Yukhei ins’t paying attention to him, lately.

It's not that he didn't love the stupid fluttery feeling he still got when Yukhei had looked directly into his eyes (although the drama-coaster that surrounded Mark’s confession had made those unintentional moments difficult to recall without a sharp pain in his chest), but when Yukhei wasn't looking at Mark, Mark could freely look at him and not be obligated to explain himself, even though he knew he really didn’t need to, his feelings were clear as day.

And that was what he was doing right now as they sat together on a couch in Mark’s dorm. Yukhei was studying the screen of his phone, watching a movie with his earbuds in, completely engrossed. And Mark was studying Yukhei: the length of his dark eyelashes, the shadow of his facial hair that was trying to grow back in the late afternoon, the way his bangs fell on his forehead.

Their textbooks lay open and forgotten on the coffee table in front of them. Mark felt slightly guilty about that. If only there was a class in male anatomy...

It took a couple minutes before Yukhei's eyes slid over to him. Caught, Mark's mind scrambled to find an excuse but his tongue was tied. Yukhei took out one of his earbuds and a smile spread across his face.

"Sorry," Yukhei said. He put the free earbud into Mark's ear and wrapped his arm around Mark's shoulders, pulling him in and holding his phone up high. "Now you can watch too!"

A blush was already rising in Mark's cheeks, but seeing Capilano Suspension Bridge on that tiny screen compelled him to finally speak. "Yukhei, why are you watching documentaries about Canada?"

"Oh, I wanted to know more about where you’re from," he replied calmly, tapping the screen to pause the movie. "Since you mentioned it last week that you wanted to go back there sometime in the future, I supposed it would be nice to get to know more if you let me tag along."

With a deep breath, Mark steadied himself, then plucked the phone from Yukhei's hands and put it down. "Okay. We need to talk." He took another moment to gather the right words while Yukhei looked at him expectantly. "I'm totally okay with being friends with you, but what we're doing right now... this is giving me the wrong idea. And I promise I'm really trying hard not to read into things, but you're making it more difficult. You wanted time to figure out your feelings and I was ok with it, but then in return let’s keep thing 100% friendly until then, ok?"

Fear, or worry, settled in Yukhei's eyes. His gaze shifted to the arm he had slung over Mark's shoulders, then the inch wide gap between them on the couch. "Oh no, I'm still doing it." He slowly pulled away, tugging his earbud back from Mark's ear delicately, and then ducked his head in misery. "Sorry, Mark, that was an accident. It's like, every day I think that I'm going to be better at knowing what's love and what's friendship... I've been researching, you know. I watch a romantic comedy every night before I go to bed. But I'm still messing up..."

Mark's heart ached for him. "The problem isn't that you aren't trying, it's just that you can't tell when you're doing it unintentionally?"

Yukhei nodded, but still wouldn't make eye contact with Mark.

"Okay, so how about this. When you do something with me that I think is romantic, I'll tell you it's an accident. And then you can know, and eventually you can think about what it means. That's easy, right?" And it will help me out too, Mark thought. This platonic thing didn't exactly come naturally to him.

Yukhei's mouth twisted in an adorable way. Then he leaned back against the couch and smiled at Mark once more. "Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks."

Then he reached out and rubbed Mark's thigh.

"Yukhei? Accident."

"Already?" Yukhei cringed. "This is going to be hard."

 

>>>> 

 

Mark really didn't like horror movies, but Yukhei liked them even less. So he couldn't help himself from recommending they have a movie night at his place in the hopes that he could hear Yukhei shriek like a little girl.

This backfired.

"How scary can it be?" he told Yukhei as he popped Annabelle: Creation into the DVD player. "It's just a possessed doll."

Yukhei's eyebrows were engaged in a most impressive worried furrow. "S-sure! That doesn't sound scary! I'm not scared at all!"

An hour and a half later, all the lights in the house were turned on, the doors were all open, and they were clutching each other tightly as the credits rolled.

"Why did you do this to me," Yukhei whined as Mark rocked him back and forth.

"Let's never watch a horror movie again," Mark told him, shell shocked. "We need the Big Hero 6 and ice cream. And we need them right now."

By the time Hiro tries to remove the healthcare chip again, they had settled down emotionally, relaxing on the couch.

"This is so much better," Yukhei murmured. Their shoulders were touching, which felt really nice for some reason. Friends touched shoulders, right?

Mark nodded. He was having trouble focusing on the movie; dessert always made him sleepy. Before he could help himself, his eyes were slowly closing... he felt his body sliding into a more comfortable position...

Sometime later, the sound of celebration coming from the television woke Mark up suddenly. At first he felt disoriented, but that quickly morphed into mortification as he realized the comfortable pillow against his left cheek was Yukhei's right thigh. Not only that, but a hand was caressing his hair in slow, rhythmic strokes. His heart almost stopped as he realized it had to be Yukhei's hand.

Mark gently extracted himself from Yukhei's lap and faced him. Yukhei was still watching the movie, but he caught the hint once Mark removed his hand from Mark's hair.

"Yukhei," Mark said sternly, "Accident."

His face visible fell. "Sorry, Mark. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Mark told him. It felt really nice, he wanted to say, but that wasn't going to help things. They watched the rest of the movie from opposite ends of the couch.

 

>>>> 

 

"Now, this isn't my first choice, but we’ll find something here," Mark explained as he led Yukhei into the clothing store.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I can't even look at the Gap without dry heaving," Yukhei said miserably.

"Hold your arms out," Mark demanded, then weaved them through the aisles, tossing pants and shirts into Yukhei's grasp. "That should be a decent first pass. Let's get you a dressing room."

He was replying to Donghyuck’s texts when Yukhei called out. Mark pulled the curtain aside to see him dressed quite neatly in black fitted jeans, leather jacket over a white button up shirt. "Is it what you expected?" Yukhei said, concerned, as he fiddled with his cuff buttons.

"It's really nice," Mark said. Really, really nice, actually. "You could maybe go a size smaller with the shirt, but it's a good fit."

"Oh ok," Yukhei said with a smile. Then he casually unzipped his pants and slid them down. Frozen in the entrance, at first all Mark could do was grip the wall tightly as he watched Yukhei kick his pants off, shrugging off his jacket to then start unbuttoning his shirt. He can see well defined abs and smooth skin as the buttons start to get lose. Yukhei ignored him, humming to himself and checking out his own half-naked chest.

"I really need to work out more, don't I?" Yukhei said with a note of pain. He slid the shirt off his shoulders and turned his body in front of the mirror. Mark registered that Yukhei's boxers were the typical Calvin Klein brand. This final detail convinced him to tear his eyes away from the curve of Yukhei's behind.

"This is an accident, Yukhei!" he hissed and then tossed the curtain closed and stormed into a corner to cool himself down.

"I'm sorry, Mark!" Yukhei wailed from behind him. "Forgive meeeeee!"

 

>>>> 

 

The crowd roared as the last note ended. Mark wanted to scream or cry or jump for joy, but he just bowed politely, then followed the rest of his performing arts class with perfect posture, his first performance in front of so many people.

Once they were safely behind the curtains, all the boys let their image go and rejoiced.

"It was PERFECT-"

"Mark, you were amazing!"

"GO MARK!-"

Mark's hands were stinging from high-fiving too many times.

After changing his clothes, he walked out of the theater and down his University’s currently empty hallways, he was tired and all he wanted was to get home and sleep for 2 days straight.

Suddenly his feet left the ground. He let out a no so manly yelp when rough hands had lifted him up and now he and his mystery attacker were spinning through the group. Of course, he wasn't surprised when he turned himself in the boy's grasp to see Yukhei's grinning smile and sparkling eyes.

"You did so good, I’m so proud of you!" Yukhei gushed, and Mark couldn't stop smiling himself. Mark was proud of what he and the rest of his team had done tonight.

Slowly, Mark's feet slid back to the floor and Yukhei's hands made their way up his back to ease the descent. But he didn't let go when Mark finally touched the ground. The height difference between them seemed more apparent at this distance; Mark's eyes were almost level with Yukhei's mouth.

"You can let go of me now," Mark said. It wasn't what he wanted to say but what he needed to.

But then Yukhei pressed in on Mark's lower back and their lips met. He kissed Mark slowly, deliberately. Mark used all his willpower to stifle a whimper but he couldn't help himself from kissing back, angling his mouth more every time and relishing the tender numbness in his mouth at each contact.

Then Yukhei groaned, just a little bit, and Mark was able to regain control over himself and pull away.

"Accident," he breathed, annoyed at his own panting.

Yukhei looked deep into his eyes, then reached into his hair and pulled him back in, kissing him even more forcefully, in an erratic rhythm. When Mark yelped a little, Yukhei's lips left his and began to cover his cheeks, his nose, even his eyelids.

"I said, accident, Yukhei," Mark repeated weakly. Betraying him, his own hands slid to Yukhei's waist and began to pull the rest of his body closer.

"I'm sorry, Mark," Yukhei said between kisses, "I couldn't hear you over how good this feels."

Mark pressed his forehead into Yukhei's. The world seemed like it was spinning, even though they weren't. One of Yukhei's hands cupped his cheek tenderly, his thumb rubbing the skin so lightly it could barely be felt.

“Does this mean you already figured it out?” Mark whispered.

“I… No,” he groaned. “I don’t know.”

Mark let out a sigh, putting his hands on Yukhei’s chest and pushing him away.

“I can’t,” he said shaking his head weakly. “At least not until you’re sure about your feelings for me.”

Yukhei made a frustrated sound.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

 

>>>> 

 

 

After that kiss things do get weird, Yukhei’s “accidents” do actually stop, it feels like he’s trying his best not to make any physical contact with him and Mark doesn’t know if he should feel hurt or relieved.

It’s been 3 months and nothing’s happened, there’s not love confessions or “break-ups” and it’s making Mark go insane.

There are too many scenarios that keep playing in his head. The most plausible one; Yukhei realized he’s never gonna feel anything beyond platonic feeling for him but doesn’t want to hurt him and he’s trying to create distance between them so the blow would be less painful for Mark.

And that’s why on the 1 year anniversary of Yukhei’s discovery of Mark’s inconvenient feelings, Mark goes to a bar. He's not planning to get wasted, but tipsy sounds like a pretty damn good idea right now.

“I’m so sorry.” He imagines Yukhei saying, right beside him. He’s heard that a lot, over the past eleven months, too. Yukhei’s been great, he’s been so supportive of Mark’s inconvenient feelings, but no matter how many times Yukhei says everything’s fine, Mark still finds himself hearing “I’m sorry” and it still hurts just as much.

“I’m sorry.” He imagines Yukhei continuing to talk: ‘I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything before, but I’m just as stupidly in love with you as you are with me, and we should go back to your dorm and discuss our passionate feelings in between bouts of kissing and maybe some other fun activities.’

“I don’t want to bother you, but is this seat taken?”

…And that’s not Yukhei talking.

Mark blinks up at the boy who’s smiling down at him sheepishly. He’s stupidly good-looking, almost as stupidly good-looking as Yukhei but in an entirely different way. Clean shaven face, jet black hair, and he’s got the sharpest jaw line Mark’s ever seen. Wow.

“Only by my woes, and they’d probably stiff me on the bill anyway.” Mark says waving the guy down after what probably looked like some serious ogling. Truthfully, Mark’s just got this masochistic tendency to compare every attractive guy he meets to Yukhei in order to find them lacking and give himself even more reason to moon.

“I see. Bad night?” The boy asks, setting himself on the stool. Mark shrugs, smile melancholy.

“Bad month.” He replies, “Actually, bad year today.” He toasts the world at large and takes a sip of his beer. The man winces in sympathy.

“College troubles?” He waves down the waitress and asks for a beer, neat, and another of whatever Mark’s drinking. It’s a nice gesture from a total stranger, and Mark grins at him in thanks. Since it’s straight from the bartender, he’ll even risk drinking it with no worries about roofies.

“No— well, yes, but that’s nothing new. I like my major though. Music and Composition major,” he supplies when the man looks at him curiously.

And as suddenly as he forgot, he remembers why he’s here. “Ugh. Yukhei,” he groans, hitting his head once on the counter. “Stupid, perfect Yukhei.”

“Ah. Guy troubles.” The man says sagely, not even blinking at the thought of Mark being into a man. Mark decides he likes this guy, not many people would go with the flow like that, even the ones who are cool with it. People like to ask questions.

“More than you could imagine.” Mark agrees glumly. The man smiles sympathetically, leaning forward and taking a sip of his drink.

“Try me.”

And well, it’s not like he’ll ever see this guy again, and he would really like the chance to unload on somebody without consequences. Mark would leave out cringe-y bits, obviously, but there’s plenty to talk about even with some significant editing. And this dude seems nice enough.

The man, Taeyong, as Mark finds out about halfway through his story when he abruptly realizes he never actually introduced himself, is actually a great listener, nodding and humming in all the right places and not even looking bored. He’s either a great liar, or he’s actually interested. Mark isn’t sure which one is more improbable.

“I think the guy’s crazy.” Taeyong tells him frankly when Mark’s finished. That surprises a laugh from him.

“Oh, you have no idea,” he says, thinking of all the trouble Yukhei gets himself in with his crazy, ridiculously noble ideas. “But that’s one of the things I love about him.”

The man blows out a sharp breath.

“You have it bad.” 

Mark groans, burying his face in his hands. Taeyong taps at his empty bottle with a long finger.

“Another drink?” Mark wants to say yes, get so smashed that he doesn’t have to think about his tragic love life, but he knows it’s a bad idea. He’ll just regret it in the morning, and if he drinks too much, he’ll either have to rely on Taeyong to get him home or else call Yukhei or Donghyuck. Calling Yukhei would just be embarrassing, Donghyuck would tell Yukhei and that would be even more embarrassing, and he doesn’t know Taeyong well enough to trust him.

“Nah, I should be getting home.” He looks up at Taeyong from the cradle of his arms. “Thanks though. I needed this.”

Taeyong grins down at him. “It was fun. I had a good time.”

Mark laughs, pushing himself up.

“You, my friend, are weird. Listening to someone else bitch for an hour should not be anyone’s idea of a good time.”

“You’re a very good story-teller.” The man compliments, denying the accusation. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind hearing a few more stories, maybe over dinner?”

Mark blinks at him, because the guy lowered his voice when he said the word ‘dinner’, and he’s inclining his head a little so that he can look up at Mark through his eyelashes (not as long as Yukhei’s, but then eyelash models don’t have lashes as long as Yukhei’s). And he’s leaning in, angling his body towards Mark. It all points to one thing.

“Are you really asking me out after listening to me talk for over an hour about how much I’m in love with someone else?” He asks, genuinely startled. “Sorry, that sounded rude, it’s just…”

Taeyong grins at him.

“It doesn’t have to be a date, though,” he says, easily baring his intentions. “Either way, I think you could use some time getting this guy off your mind, maybe going out for a reason other than drowning your sorrows. Have some fun, you know.”

“So you’re saying that you would actually like to make an appointment to listen to me babble some more?” Taeyong nods, smiling.

“I said I had fun. The way I see it, worst case I end up with a new friend,” he shrugs.

Mark says, running a hand through his hair. “This is such a bad idea.”

“But you’re going to say yes.” Taeyong predicts, and Mark blows out a breath, smiling down at him wryly.

“But I’m going to say yes.” He agrees. It’s a bad idea, but it’s not the worst he’s ever had.

The worst one would always be falling in love with Wong Yukhei.

 

>>>> 

 

Taeyong is nice. Mark’s not fooling himself though, he knows that he’s not getting over Yukhei anytime soon (or ever), but Taeyong’s a good listener, and he’s smart and funny and clearly interested in Mark, which is great for his ego.

So two days later when Taeyong calls him and asks to meet up, Mark says yes.

 

>>>> 

 

“Do you wanna go get some meat? I’m craving some barbeque” Yukhei offers. “I’ll even pay.”

Mark almost says hell yes, when he remembers.

“I can’t tonight. I have a thing.” He’s not quite sure how to classify what he’s doing with Taeyong. Flirt-with-a-friend-to-avoid-thinking-about-the guy-you’re-in-love-with doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

Yukhei, who has already tugged on his jacket and turned towards the door, freezes.

“Oh?” He asks lightly, not turning around. “A thing?” Mark nods, biting hip lip for a second. “What kind of thing?”

Mark hesitates, and then bites the bullet.

“A not-date thing,” he admits.

“You met someone?” Yukhei asks. Mark pulls on his jacket slowly.

“Yeah,” he confesses. 

“And you didn’t tell me?” Yukhei sounds a little hurt, finally turning towards Mark. He’s frowning, and he’s got the little eyebrow furrow that means he’s more upset than he lets on. Mark shrugs.

“I was going to, but it’s someone I just met, and it’s just a friend.”

Yukhei looks like he wants to ask a million questions, but instead what Yukhei asks, low and soft is, “has he kissed you?”

Mark chokes.

“Of course not! I told you, we’re just friends,”

Yukhei smiles unsurely.

 “Just a friend?” He asks, and Mark nods.

“Yes. His name is Taeyong. He’s nice, you’d like him.” But they are never going to meet if Mark can help it, because he’s not entirely sure Taeyong won’t bring up Mark’s feelings for Yukhei and Yukhei does not need someone else guilt tripping him, Yukhei does that enough on his own.

“Really?” Yukhei says, and he sounds skeptical. It’s a little insulting, because Mark has really good taste in friends, thank you very much. Case in point, right here.

“Yeah, really,” Mark confirms neutrally. He glances at the clock, and is completely relieved to see that he should have left five minutes ago. He needs to get out of this conversation, ASAP. “Well, I’ll be late if I don’t get going. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Yukhei nods, turning to look after Mark when Mark brushes past him.

“Sure.” He agrees quietly. “Have a good time.”

Mark really wants to go out and eat meat with Yukhei, but he makes himself keep walking anyway.

 

>>>> 

 

Mark’s not-date actually does go well. At least until Yukhei calls him halfway through appetizers.

“Do you… think I could sleep at… your place tonight?” Yukhei asks him, sounding unfocused and Mark pulls his phone away from his ear for a moment to blink at it. His brain melts a little, and he wants to say ‘god yes, every night’ but that’s not cool, platonic best friend talk like he promised Yukhei.

“Sure.” He says, trying to sound casual. Then he frowns. “Wait, why? Is something up?”

“No, no,” Yukhei slurs. “I just… my apartment is too far away from where I am right now and I’m tired.”

“Are you okay?” Mark asks, worried. “What does ‘tired’ mean? Like, sleepy? Or…” Or drunk, he doesn’t say, because Taeyong’s looking at him curiously from across the table.

“I’m ok.” Yukhei promises, and then ruins it by muttering, “Mostly. I’m at that bar we went last time”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake—hold on. I’ll be there soon.” Mark tells him, and he ignores Yukhei’s protests and hangs up. “Sorry, I’m so sorry. That was rude, but Yukhei needs me to pick him up, so…”

Taeyong’s giving him an odd little smile.

“No, it’s fine.” He says slowly, and when Mark blinks at him he adds neutrally, “It’s just… when you talk to him your voice sounds different,” he shrugs.

“Oh.” Mark says dumbly, because he’s never noticed that. Yukhei’s never said anything. “Like, weird?”

“No.” Taeyong pauses. “Just different. Softer,” Mark blushes.

“Yeah, well.” Mark deflects, uncomfortable. “So, I hate doing this, but would you mind?” He nods towards the door, and Taeyong smiles, shaking his head.

“Nah, go get your man.”

“He’s not my man.” Mark denies, but he’s already standing and grabbing his jacket. Taeyong laughs.

“If you say so...” Taeyong mimes holding a phone to his ear. “Call me when you get him sorted out, okay? Let me know you got in okay.”

“Okay.” Mark says waving goodbye and running out of the door.

 

>>>> 

 

Yukhei is most definitely not a lightweight, which is why it’s so startling to see him more than a little drunk. Yukhei keeps bumping into invisible things and leaning against Mark the whole way.

In addition to being a clumsy drunk, Yukhei is also apparently a chatty one.

“You’re perfect, you know?” He whispers in Mark’s ear as Mark hefts most of Yukhei’s weight up the stairs to his dorm. “I mean, perfect.”

“Yes, Yukhei, you’ve told me that like 5 times already. But if you’d like to keep stroking my ego, go on ahead.” Mark teases, shuffling them up another flight.

“No, I mean, you’re perfect. Like, perfect everything. Perfect person, perfect student, perfect friend. Best friend I ever had. The most perfect person I ever met.” Mark laughs to hide the skip of his heart.

“You, my friend, clearly need to get out more.”

“No. Nope.” Yukhei says, mouth still far too close to Mark’s ear. “Nobody’s… nobody’s as good as you are. Nice. Perfect.”

“Well, okay then. You’re pretty nice yourself.” Mark says, fumbling with the keys for his door. 

“No, ‘m not.” Yukhei argues, morose. “I wanna be, but I’m not.”

“Okay, Yukhei,” Mark sighs.

“’S true. You are awesome.” Yukhei agrees, and Mark wishes he’d stop using that word because Yukhei keeps sighing it in this soft, low way that makes Mark’s heart skip a beat every time. “Bed?”

Mark swallows at the breathy, sleepy way Yukhei says it. More a whisper than anything, breath fanning out over the curl of Mark’s ear and down the back of his neck.

“Yeah, man, you got it. Bed.” He croaks, and levers Yukhei that way.

Yukhei pretty much collapses when they reach the mattress, and then is generally unhelpful. Mark stops trying to prod him into assisting after a minute or two and just tugs Yukhei’s shoes off himself.

Yukhei’s fingers clutch around his wrist clumsily. Yukhei’s eyes are wide, they look past Mark for a moment before locking on to his. Heat-seeking, Mark thinks.

“Love you, you know,” Yukhei murmurs. “So much. Should have told you before.”

Mark exhales sharply.

“Yeah?” He breathes, because maybe he didn't get this call, maybe this is a dream. Or maybe, just maybe…

But Yukhei’s drunk and already asleep and Mark hates himself for the way his heart drops again.  

“Yeah, love you too,” he whispers, putting a cover over Yukhei’s sleeping form.

 

>>>> 

 

“So, how was your not-date thing?”

Yukhei asks him the next morning, sitting in Mark's couch while wrapped up in Mark’s bed cover, holding in his hands the soup that Mark bought for him to help with his hangover.

“How do you think?” Mark answers from where he stands in the small kitchen, looking briefly over his shoulder to look at Yukhei. “You called me in the middle of it, remember?”

“Are you mad at me?”

Mark let out a sigh, turning completely to look at Yukhei properly.

“I’m not, I’m just confused. What were you thinking? You went out drinking alone, what for?”

“I was feeling a bit down and you weren’t here,” Yukhei says while pouting, looking down at his now empty bowl.

“Why didn’t you say something? I wouldn’t have gone out with Taeyong if I knew you were feeling that way.”

“Well you seemed… excited about going out with this Tae-whatever guy,” he says, his words full with bitterness.

Mark looks at him for a long moment and the realization hit him.

“Oh my God, you got drunk on purpose to make me pick you up and leave Taeyong, didn’t you” it wasn’t a question.

“What? No!” Yukhei exclaims, dropping his empty bowl in the small table infron of him and clearly pretending to be offended.

“Why would you do that? I told you we were just friends!” Mark exclaims walking up to where Yukhei is sitting, a spoon still in his hand.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” Yukhei mutters darkly. “But you don’t have to lie about it, you know. I’m…” He swallows. “I get it.”

Mark laughs bitterly, running a hand through his hair.

“You really do not get it, Yukhei.” Yukhei flinches, and Mark sighs. “Look, Taeyong is a good guy, and yeah, he is very hot but I don’t like him like that.”

Yukhei eyes him carefully, frowning. 

“So you’re not interested in him?” Mark sort of wants to hit Yukhei with his spoon.

“No, Yukhei. I’m not interested in him that way. He’s a friend, we went on out as friends and that’s it. I never even kissed him.” He glares. “Are you done dissecting my lacking love life?”

Yukhei shakes his head, swallows hard.

“No.” He whispers. “I just…” He takes a deep breath. “I just thought you might be moving on from… whatever it is that we have.” He says timidly, no louder than a murmur.

Mark laughs, only a little hysterically. 

“No Yukhei, I haven’t and I’m still very much in love with you and probably will be for a very long time,” Mark shakes his head. “You have also made it pretty damn clear that you don’t feel the same, so could we please drop it?”

Yukhei swallows again, standing up and walking up to where Mark's standing.

“What if I did feel the same?” He whispers.

“No.” Mark says, dull. “No, you don’t get to say that.” Yukhei says nothing. “Don’t do this to me, Yukhei. I don’t think I could take it if you confess to me out of guilt of just for pity.”

Yukhei shakes his head sharply, looking stricken. “It wouldn’t— God, how can you even say that? I would never do that to you.”

Mark snorts bitterly.

“So, what? You’re saying that you’re actually in love with me, and you just failed to mention it at the rather opportune moment when I confessed to you or... you know, any other time during this past year?”

Yukhei looks incredibly guilty. Mark gapes at him.

“No.” Mark says sharply, getting to his feet and holding his arms up like he’s warding off a blow. “Nope, not buying it. What possible reason could you have for not saying anything?” Yukhei winces, standing as well.

“I was really confused at that time,” he explains desperately. “I was just... scared I guess. It was a lot to deal with, I didn’t know what I actually felt. I didn't even know if I liked guys that way.” He smiles mirthlessly. “And then you went out with this Taeyong guy…”

Mark stares at him in horror.

“Oh, no.” He mutters. “This is jealousy, isn’t it? You’ve convinced yourself that you’re in love with me because you don’t like me spending time with other people.” He clenches his fists. “Damn it, Yukhei. I can’t believe—“

“You’re right. I was jealous.” Yukhei admits simply. “I still am jealous, actually, that he got to take you to dinner and not completely screw himself over by missing the fact that he’s been in love with you for months.” Yukhei pauses meaningfully. “I was jealous after you told me about him, the thought of you falling for someone else was really unbearable, that’s why I went to that bar and then I realized I was in love with you, that I’ve been in love with you for a while.”

Mark gapes at him.

“Well, you didn’t have to get drunk and pull that stunt to tell me this. It’s not like you had to worry about me not feeling the same.”

“But what if you didn’t?” Yukhei presses. “What if you’d changed your mind? You never said it again, after that night. And you kept calling me out whenever I got to close to you,” he bites his lip.

“You thought, what, that I was going to say no if you asked me out?” Yukhei nods miserably. “Yukhei, did you not hear what I told you? I just wanted to be sure you felt the same way, you said it yourself, you wanted to be sure too.”

 Yukhei smiles weakly at him.

“I’m an idiot, aren’t I?” He sounds completely beaten-down, shoulders slumped and eyes sad.

“Yes, you are.” Mark tells him quietly.

Yukhei swallows, taking a step closer. He makes a little aborted movement with his hands, like he wants to reach out but he can’t let himself.

“So, can I say it now?” Yukhei tries tentatively, and Mark laughs.

“Do you feel it’s the right time now, do you feel it in your heart?” He asks fondly, and Yukhei grins ruefully at him.

“Pretty much.” He admits sheepishly. “I love you.” He reaches out again, and this time Mark lets himself be caught. “I love you.” He murmurs, leaning down to kiss him. It is utterly sweet for a moment, soft as silk. It’s lovely, really it is, but Mark has years of sexual tension pent up and he needs something a little bit… more.

He tangles a hand in Yukhei’s hair and uses it to tilt his head to a better angle, pressing closer. Yukhei makes a surprised, delighted sound and lets Mark tug at his hair until he’s happy with it.

Then he nips at Mark’s lower lip and whoa, yep, looks like Yukhei’s got some stuff pent up too. He kisses hard and hot, licking into Mark’s mouth and snagging one arm around Mark’s waist to pull him closer.

“God, I love you.” Yukhei whispers hoarsely when they pause to breathe.

“I love you too.” Mark whispers back, and Yukhei makes a startled little sound. Mark smiles up at him. "I guess this means you don't want to be just friends anymore?" Mark managed to get out.

"I guess it does," Yukhei said. Even he looked surprised. "I warn you, I still suck at romance. But it appears I suck even more at being just friends with you."

"Duly noted," Mark reassured him. He checked his watch. "We still have 1 hour before I have to leave for class. If you want to keep practicing your romance skills."

"I’d like that."

Yukhei grabbed Mark's hand and they hurried into Mark’s room to further their relationship. Intentionally, this time.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I can't believe I actually finished this.
> 
> Let me tell you something about this fic... I read these cute ass AUs on twitter and they ruined me so I wanted to write something about them. This was supposed to be a short fic but then I felt the need to give more back-story and that's how I ended up with this long ass thing lol  
> Frankly speaking I didn't know people shipped this pairing. I know they're both 99liners and all but their interactions are almost non-existent but I can say that while writing this I do see the potential and they might become a strong ship for me in the future.
> 
> While writting this I actually stopped for a while, I'm one of those persons that needs motivation and to be quite honest Lucas and Mark weren't giving me much lol but then today's fansign happened and the were so cute, it was motivation enought to get me to finish this. 
> 
> This is also my first fic here in AO3, and it's been a while since I've written anything so, go soft on me. I hope you enjoyed it though.


End file.
